A Journal of the American West—Lavishly Illustrated

After the Global Peoples’ Climate March

Forty-eight hearty Port Orfordians (and six dogs) turned out last Sunday for our very own Peoples’ Climate March. It was cold and windy but undeterred, the crowd streamed down US 101 waving homemade signs, starting at Battle Rock Park and winding up blocks away in the Ray’s parking lot. OK so it wasn’t New York City. But it was definitely Port Orford. Here are some pictures of our march:

On the other hand, the Peoples’ Climate March in New York City last Sunday sure looked huge, exciting, organized and warm! Upwards of 400,000 people marched; thousands more watched and cheered. The turnout was overwhelming to organizers who had, apparently, done a phenomenal job of corralling and moving the participants down Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue. Here are some photos:

The one day UN Summit on Tuesday, at whom the march was aimed, didn’t have breathtaking or immediate results. Still, what might have been considered a moribund climate “program” at the UN may have been re-invigorated by the huge march and the UN Summit participation of a bevy of world leaders including President Obama who noted in his speech: “Our citizens keep marching. We cannot pretend we do not hear them. We have to answer the call.”

National Geographic summarized the three most important outcomes of the summit this way:

A movement to fight climate change has real people power. More companies are recognizing that halting deforestation is good PR. There’s growing pressure to help the world’s most vulnerable countries.